Tak

Tak lies on the Ping River, between the northern plains and the mountain passes leading west towards Burma. It was a frontier town of Sukhothai and later an important post of Ayutthaya. Local tradition remembers a battle near Tak in which the young prince Ram Khamhaeng fought an enemy ruler from Mueang Chot. The town's position made it a gathering place for armies travelling through the western passes or towards the northern cities.

In the eighteenth century a governor of Tak, later known as King Taksin, became one of the commanders defending Ayutthaya against Burma. He escaped before the capital fell in 1767 and gathered forces on the eastern coast. After defeating the remaining Burmese garrisons, he established a new royal centre at Thonburi. His association with Tak endured in the name by which he became known.